


I've got you

by lookforanewangle



Series: behind your darkest doubts | whumptober 2020 [6]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Blood, Brief Descriptions of Injury, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Restraints, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookforanewangle/pseuds/lookforanewangle
Summary: Dick is wearily unlocking the door to his apartment when his phone chimes urgently in his pocket.“I found him,”Babara says, and that’s all Dick needs to hear before he’s sprinting in the opposite direction towards the garage.—No 7. I’VE GOT YOUSupport | Carrying| Enemy to Caretaker
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: behind your darkest doubts | whumptober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951099
Comments: 8
Kudos: 158





	I've got you

**Author's Note:**

> too much angst lately, time for some comfort wooo! should have done more, but. I'm on a schedule lol
> 
> not too many warnings this time around, just a mention of injuries and blood, but nothing graphic. if I need to tag more extensively, please let me know!

Dick is wearily unlocking the door to his apartment when his phone chimes urgently in his pocket.

 _“I found him,”_ Babara says, and that’s all Dick needs to hear before he’s sprinting in the opposite direction towards the garage.

“Where?”

***

He’s pulling up to the abandoned apartment building not ten minutes later with no suit and no mask, just a makeshift taser in his pocket, a lockpick on his keychain, and Oracle in his ear.

It’ll have to be enough.

 _“As far as I can tell, no one’s been home for hours,”_ she says, keys clattering in the background. _“But,”_ she continues, _“our John Doe has some lovely neighbors who reported seeing a kid being taken in four days ago matching Damian’s description.”_

“And I’m only hearing about this now because…?” Dick says, anger bubbling under his skin as he slinks around for a back entrance.

 _“No one wanted to talk, Dick, you know how it goes,”_ she answers stiffly. _“Someone just came forward 30 minutes ago. I’m not going to hide something like that when someone’s life is on the line.”_

Dick closes his eyes and takes a breath. “I know you wouldn’t,” he says, regret evident. “I just…”

 _“I know,”_ she answers. _“There’s a door hidden behind the dumpster to your left.”_

“Thanks,” he whispers. He slips behind the dumpster and into the building, glancing around for clues as to where Damian could have been kept. “Anything else I need to know?”

 _“I’m blind inside,”_ she says. _“Permits indicate electrical hasn’t been updated in fifteen years, and there aren’t any cameras. Satellite only has one heat signature, but be careful. And Dick?”_

“Yeah?”

_“Bring him home safe.”_

“I won’t be going home without him.”

_“Good. I’ll be here if you need me.”_

***

The floor creaks ominously as Dick steps further into the building. It’s a good thing no one else is around, or he would have given himself away already. Being in civvies makes this a good thing, he supposes; Dick Grayson can’t sneak around like Nightwing can. And if no one else is around…

“Damian?” he calls, moving quickly through the spaces, clearing corners before moving on. There’s no response as he clears the first floor. He’s got to be here somewhere, it has to be him. Dick doesn’t know what he’ll do if this is another false lead. He’s run himself ragged chasing down cold trails thus far, and he’s so desperate he could snap. It’s been a week of Damian missing, not Robin, but _Damian_ , and anything could have happened in that time period.

“Dames? Come on, kiddo, talk to me,” Dick pleads, head turning rapidly in every direction to try and catch sight or sound of him. A muffled whimper calls from a door down the hall, so quiet he nearly misses it. “Damian?” he calls louder, stepping forward and grabbing at the knob. 

Locked.

He whips his keys from his pocket, sliding his lock picks into the slot. “Hold on, kiddo,” he calls. “Hold on, I’m coming.”

He has the lock open in under thirty seconds, and throws open the door, takes the stairs down as fast as he dares. He grabs the pole at the base of the steps, uses it to propel himself around the corner and comes to an abrupt halt, nearly tripping over himself.

 _Jesus_. 

Damian is lying in a heap in the corner of the room, clothes in tatters and old blood dried and pooled beneath him, wrists and ankles bound, and mouth duct taped shut. Dick rushes forwards, heart in his throat.

“Damian!”

The boy flinches at his sudden arrival, duct tape across his mouth muffling his whimper, eyes shut tight as he curls in on himself. A pang of regret stutters in Dick’s chest and he slows.

“Hey,” he whispers as he drops to his knees, hand reaching out to gently brush Damian’s hair back from his forehead. “Hey kiddo, it’s all right, it’s just me.”

Damian’s eyes squeeze tighter before slowly opening and peering up at him hesitantly. His eyes immediately start to water when he catches Dick’s gaze, and he lets out a whine. Dick shushes him— _shh, it’s all right, it’s going to be okay—_ and gently pries the tape off of his face. It’s a slow process. Damian takes a shuddering breath once his mouth is free, and Dick gets to work on the rest of the restraints.

“Babs,” Dick says, tugging on the ropes around Damian’s chafed ankles.

 _“Already on it,”_ she responds. _“EMT is en route, just sit tight.”_

“Grayson,” Damian croaks, tears spilling down his cheeks. _“Grayson.”_

Dick’s heart breaks.

“I know, kiddo, I know,” Dick commiserates, eyeing all of the cuts and bruises littered across the boy’s body. “C’mere.”

Damian chokes on a moan as Dick slowly helps him sit up and pulls him to his chest. “You’re gonna be alright,” he breathes, tucking Damian under his chin, hand rubbing soothingly over his bruised and trembling back. “It’s all right, it’s over now.”

“You came,” Damian whispers brokenly. “You _came_. I didn’t—I—”

“Of course I came,” Dick assures him, tightening his hold just barely and giving a slight squeeze to the nape of his neck. “I’ll _never_ leave you behind, you hear me?”

Damian buries his head further against Dick’s chest with a whine, tears soaking through his shirt, but Dick doesn’t mind. He just sits and holds Damian tight, and vows to never let him out of his sight again.

They sit there for a while, Dick murmuring in his ear and holding him close. Damian shifts, fingers clenching on the fabric of Dick’s jacket.

“I want to go home,” he whispers. “Please.”

“Gotta wait for the EMTs this time, bud,” Dick says regretfully. “Can’t just disappear, here. But I’ll be with you every minute, all right? I won’t leave your side.” He presses a lingering kiss to Damian’s hair for good measure. Damian stiffens.

“I—I apologize. I should not have gotten myself captured.”

Dick frowns. “Hey, no,” he says, pulling back to catch Damian’s gaze. The boy keeps his eyes downward, his lip trembling. Dick gently tips his chin up to look him in the eyes imploringly. “You have nothing to be sorry for, understand?” Damian looks away with a sniff and gingerly buries back into Dick’s chest. Dick lets him, but continues to reassure. “This isn’t your fault, Dames. You wouldn’t believe how many times I got myself kidnapped as a civilian as a kid,” he jokes, settling his chin in the boy’s hair. “Dealing with the EMTs instead of Alfred sucks, but it’ll be okay. Then we can get back and have Alfred’s cookies once everything is squared away.”

Damian sighs against him, and Dick goes back to rubbing his back soothingly. He tilts his head to rest his cheek against Damian’s hair with an exhausted sigh of his own.

“It’ll be alright, Dami,” he whispers, squeezing him gently. “We’ll be home soon enough, and you’re going to be okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> nothing else fully planned for now, aside from a chapter 2 for last year's fic, though I have a few ideas for later in the month. hopefully something else will be posted, so stick around!


End file.
